In the days immediately following the Vancouver Canucks' postseason exit, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the Roberto Luongo/Cory Schneider goaltending tandem was finished. Luongo, the long-time starter with the megacontract, said he'd accept a trade if the team decided to make Schneider, 26 years old and the starter for the bulk of the first round, the undisputed No. 1.

Both GM Mike Gillis and Schneider's agent, though, have said in the past few days that both players could return.

“Having both goalies back in Vancouver next year is definitely a possibility and probably the leading possibility,” Mike Liut, Cory Schnieder’s agent, told The Vancouver Province.

“Cory will approach the season as he did this year—you focus on what you can control.”

At 33, Luongo (31-14-8, 2.41 GAA, .919 save percentage) has 10 years and more than $47 million remaining on his contract—a fact that limits Vancouver's ability to find a trade partner and likely contributes to the rhetorical shift by Gillis and Liut.

Schneider replaced Luongo for the last three games of Vancouver's five-game loss to the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. Luongo didn't have much to complain about with the Canucks dropping his two starts — he allowed seven goals on 64 shots—but Vancouver's choice between him and Schneider (20-8-1, 1.96 GAA, .937 save percentage) is inevitable, and Luongo's play, particularly in the postseason, remains a polarizing issue among the fanbase.

A former first-round pick, Schneider will become a restricted free agent on July 1 and can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2013—so whether decision time comes now or later for Gillis, it will happen eventually.

The two are friends and have never shown any public signs of strife.

“They’ve got a guy here that is going to be a superstar in this league for the next 10, 12, 15 years,” Luongo said on April 24. “It is a business and that’s the way it goes. I loved being here the last six years. I think my career has really taken off and we did some incredible things. If I’m here in the future, then great. If I’m not, that’s good also.”